A one-sentence statement served as the notice that Mr. Anderson, who reimagined LVMH’s Loewe brand, would lead men’s wear design at Dior.
On Thursday, one of the worst-kept secrets in the fashion industry was confirmed, in a brief unceremonious manner. At least part of it.
During a shareholders’ meeting, Bernard Arnault, the chief executive of the LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton luxury goods empire, let fly that Jonathan Anderson, the former Loewe designer who built that brand from a niche collection into a fashion powerhouse, would officially be stepping in as the head men’s wear designer at Dior.
In a terse, one-sentence statement, the brand confirmed that Mr. Anderson had been named the artistic director of its men’s collections and that his first show for the label would be presented June 27 in Paris. The release did not include any quotes from Mr. Arnault or Mr. Anderson, furthering speculation that there was more to the story.
Mr. Anderson has long been rumored to be taking over not just Dior Men, but also Dior’s women’s line. For now, Maria Grazia Chiuri is still, officially, the label’s women’s wear designer. She presented her Fall collection for the brand in Kyoto on Tuesday, and is slated to present her 2026 Cruise show in Rome, her hometown, late next month.
The truncated announcement for Mr. Anderson comes as LVMH broadly is feeling the pressure. This week it reported a 3 percent year-over-year sales dip, caused by slipping sales in Asia and the United States (though, the declines are heftiest in its liquor businesses) sending its stock down around 8 percent. Dior in particular was said by Cécile Cabanis, the LVMH chief financial officer, to have performed “below the average.”
At the shareholders’ meeting, Mr. Arnault announced Mr. Anderson’s appointment in response to a question from an investor, and it may have been an attempt to quell investor fears that the brand wasn’t doing enough to right the ship. Still, it adds to the impression that LVMH, the world’s largest luxury company, is handling news about its loftiest jobs in a reactive, piecemeal manner, in which the rumor mill is often well ahead of official announcements.